Empire Baptist Temple

God has given His churches a commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and in all places. All evangelistic endeavors should be carried on under the authority of a local Church — it is the responsibility of each Baptist Church to carry out the great commission as each is led of the Lord.

EBT has been involved in ministering inside correctional facilities since 1974. Pastors McCandless and Tottingham have ministered in several jails and prisons in other states also.

Correctional facilities are magnets for false religions. Therein we've witnessed countless "jail-house professions" wherein men make attempts at correcting their lives without true salvation. However, after decades of planting good seed, we have been privileged to harvest some very good fruit. Over the years our ministry has seen great victories among a number of inmates. The first such victory always remains a memory marker and that was an inmate in the 1980s who we worked with a couple of years before he got out. Our church was able to get involved with his family over a year prior to his release and was able to give them a family environment; today he is a remarkable and productive citizen with his whole family living for the Lord! Amen.

Many such stories could be told. We have some presently in our church serving very faithfully, married and with families. We have worked to help many others find sound churches elsewhere in the country. Churches which would spiritually adopt them and be a family to them to their success.

What about those "lifers", those who are incarcerated for life? We've also been able to enter their lives and see many, yes many, receive Christ and make our "Bible classes" their church and Bible college. We've witnessed them grow in the Lord and His truth until they become matured Christians and very soul conscious and effective witnesses to both inmates and officers. We also have been able to work with some of their families giving them the gospel and making life-long friends. We've been able to offer them a homey church family when they are here visiting their loved one in prison.

The SDDOC even purchased a baptismal tank for us to baptize in (immersion), which we do after some thorough doctrinal training. As a consequence, we've baptized many inmates into the membership of the EBT. Of those most remain faithful to the Lord. The associate warden who authorized the purchase asked if he might witness our first few baptisms, as he, being a Lutheran, had never seen an immersion.

What a ministry ministering to the imprisoned is! This is one ministry EBT praises the Lord for leading us into several decades back. It all began when Pastor Tottingham wanted to give some of himself away to someone who he thought he could not gain from financially or by their attendance at church. But, oh how we all have gained from this ministry! It has been wonderful to watch inmates give their hearts to the Lord and serve Him with what they have left. What reward and what joy!